Pacific Skipjack Tuna

Skipjack Tuna has a high metabolism, and can eat up to 25% of its bodyweight a day! ^[4] 

Image

Taxonomic description

• Has a silver body, with a dark blue-black back, and four to six dark stripes along its sides. ^[2,4]
• Has very few scales, except for along its lateral line and head. ^[4]​

^​Distribution

• Found throughout Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans in tropical and subtropical waters. ^[1,2,4]
• Highly migratory. ^[1,2,4]

Life history

• Has a life span of 7-12 years. ^[1]

• Matures around 1 year of age and around 39.6 cm (1.3 ft) long, and it can grow up to 1.2 m (4 ft) and weigh over 70 pounds. ^[4,6,7]

• Spawns all year long in equatorial waters and females can lay up to two million eggs. ^[1,2]
• Through broadcast spawning, released eggs are fertilized and hatch one day later. ^[7]
• Often found in schools of thousands for hunting and reproduction. ^[3]

Habitat

• Lives in the pelagic zone, spending most of its life in the open ocean. ^[7]
• Schools with bigeye and yellowfin tuna. ^[7]
• Predators of skipjack tuna includes large pelagic fishes, including billfish, larger tunas, and sharks. ^[6,7]
• Preys on other fish, crustaceans, mollusks, and other tunas. ^[4,6,7]

Making up at least 60% of legally caught tunas, Skipjack is the most heavily fished tuna worldwide. ^[3]

Image

Seasonal availability

• Available year round. ^[5]

Regulatory and managing authority

• Internationally overseen by the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) and the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC). ^[5,6]
• Along the Pacific West Coast, the fishery is overseen by NOAA fisheries and, as established by the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the Pacific Fishery Management Council  through the West Coast Highly Migratory Species Fisheries Management Plan. ^[5]
• As established by the Marine Life Management Act, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) collects data on this fishery through the Pelagic Fisheries and Ecosystems Program. ^[10,11]

Gear type

• Gear used include purse seines, troll, artisanal handline, pelagic longline, pelagic hook-and-line, and pole-and-line. ^[4,5,7] 
• Purse seines are predominantly used. ^[5] 

Status of the fishery

• Skipjack populations are difficult to assess due to high and variable productivity, but populations are thought to be stable and not overfished or subject to overfishing as of a 2015 stock assessment. ^[5,7]
• Rapid growth and reproduction rates help tuna resist fishing pressure. ^[7]
• The Fishery Management Plan for U.S. West Coast fisheries for Highly Migratory Species management includes:
  • Permits and documentation of catch. ^[5]
  • Gear constraints and requirements for operation. ^[5]
  • Large vessels require observer coverage and other vessels are subject to observer requests by NOAA. ^[5]
• Measures have been adopted from the WCPFC and IATTC to regulate catch of juvenile tuna effecting other species through use of purse seine. ^[5]

Potential ecosystem impacts

• When large purse-seine nets are set around Fish-Aggregation-Devices, there is a substantial amount of bycatch, including: other fish, sharks, rays, and sometimes even sea turtles, whales, or dolphins. ^[2,5,7,9]
• Because fishing gears used for these tuna typically do not touch the ocean floor, there is minimal impact on the surrounding habitat. ^[6,7]

The canned tuna market is by far the most frequent production, with over 95% of skipjack tuna contributing to canned tuna supply. ^[4]   

Image

Edible portions

• Steaks, loins, headed and gutted, and canned. ^[7]

Description of meat

• Deep red when raw, light gray when cooked. ^[5,7]
• Large flakes of firm, moist, mild meat. ^[5,7]
• Skipjack tuna has the most pronounced taste of tropical tunas. ^[5,7]

Culinary uses

• Can be made fresh or frozen as steaks, loins, or headed and gutted. ^[7]
• Typically fried, broiled, or sautéed. ^[7]
• Most often eaten as canned, as “canned light” or “chunk light” tuna. ^[4,7]
• For a tuna cake recipe, visit Martha Stewart. ^[12]
• For a Filipino tuna recipe, visit Panlasang Pinoy. ^[13]

Nutritional information 

• Tuna is a great source of low-fat protein. ^[7]
• It has significant levels of omega-3 that benefit health in multiple ways. ^[1]
• Nutrition facts given for a 100g serving. ^[5]

Toxicity report

• Canned light tuna has a moderate concentration of mercury, but is a safer choice compared to other canned tuna. ^[8]

Seasonal availability

• Available year round. ^[5]